A part-time intern known by the initial: M (not the one in James Bond) felt it wasn't ethical to hire out equipment to train a diver in a refresher course. She also stated: training in the ocean wasn't allowed. (what ocean?) When I provided appropriate certification, her response was: leave! Her second tantrum in as many weeks was when I hired twin tanks. After filling out the hire/release forms, she demanded my 3-digit verification code also be included. When I mentioned I wouldn't, explaining in a rational manner that the bank wouldn't allow it and that if the receipt book was misplaced or stolen, potential fraudsters could go shopping online with my credit details. And then, she still didn't get it. Customers should not be subjected to this level of stupidity. Karl and Sally run a great dive shop. But if your neurotic intern is going to scrutinize every certified diver (insured or not) that comes into your store, then your ridiculous policy will in no doubt turn away new and existing customers. Your quick response to this review has certainly hit a nerve. Scuba diving seems to attract egotistic fools. As for the private message... it didn't mention student.

Experienced, knowledgeable and friendly staff. The guys are fabulous. Great with kids aswell

I gave 5 stars because we have been trying to have our snorkelling adventure for a number of years (thanks covid and mother nature LOL) antway Sunday 25th me my son and grandson were treated to the most spectacular day with Dani from the Altona snorkel and dive. He set us all up with our gear wet suits snorkels and masks the whole time explaining the whys as to what he was doing, once we hit the water it was glorious he stayed close and showed us many exciting things we saw under the sea, The whole time everyone at snorkel and dive were helpful in maintaining communication with us. So 5 stars is as high as I can go otherwise it would be more. Thanks to you all Phil

Young guy is helpful not the older bloke

Really professional and caring crew who take care of all your training needs, rentals, and organised dives. Rental gear was top quality - 7mm suits were really comfortable. Looking forward to more shore and boat dives!

Great service! I emailed back and forth with Sally who organised my refresher course so that it would be done at the same time as my friend's open water dive. She always replied quickly to my emails, and made sure everything was clear and easy. On the day, Joanna was my instructor, and she was friendly, knowledgeable, supportive and patient. Also had interesting conversation on the drive! Overall had a great experience. Just thought that the refresher course was quite costly, especially considering that I brought some of my own gear. That being said, they offered a second dive on the same day for just the price of the tank, which I thought was nice :)

We had our refresher course at the Mornington Peninsula with Dani as a private instructor. It was absolutely amazing. First, I was expecting the water to be freezing and the whole experience to be uncomfortable, but they provided great wet suits and was very comfortable. Second we saw such great ocean life including the Weedy Sea dragons. Third and of course best was Dani who is incredibly competent and made the experience both fun but also felt that we solidified our working knowledge. Highly recommend.

Staff here are friendly and helpful. Always prompt and good for gear servicing and nice range of equipment to buy

I recently completed my open water 20 with Altona Snorkel & Dive Safari and I can't recommend them highly enough! The training is top notch and the dive club is welcoming and friendly. I highly recommend anyone who is thinking of getting into diving to drop in.

Thanks to the team for an awesome dive training course! Ben and Dani expertly coached me through the OW20 certification. Looking forward to developing my dive skills with the club.

Thanks so much for your help getting a scuba refresher course in before my trip to the Philippines!! Everyone was very accommodating and helpful. If you don't have much equipment, no worries, they loan out everything you'll need. Thanks especially to Travis, who ran my course. He was a legend! Very knowledgeable but chill, making me feel very safe and chill as well!!

I recently completed my scuba diving certification at Snorkel and dive Safari Altona Beach, and it was an exceptional experience. The instructors were knowledgeable, patient, and safety-conscious. The facilities were well-maintained, and the equipment provided was top-notch. The training dives were conducted at beautiful locations, allowing us to fully appreciate the underwater world. Overall, a fantastic place to learn and develop scuba skills. Highly recommended!

Went to Rye with Matteo as our instructor to do the refresher course, and it was such a great experience. I have gone with few other dive centres, and this is by far the best. Matteo was professional and very helpful. All of the equipment were also good quality and in great condition. Will definitely go with these guys again next time! Thank you!

Best dive crew in Melbourne. Always provide the right advice and coaching. Meticulous in nature and excellent eye for detail. They're always willing to coach and help when you need it. They're passionate about what they do and producing good divers is their number one priority. I don't even care what they charge because the coaching and advice i get from them for free makes up for whatever cheaper products are available on line.

Highly recommended. We did the Open Water 20 course. Always made to feel safe and comfortable, even when pushed to step out of comfort zones! Comprehensive teaching, with fun and personable instructors. The dive shop is very well stocked too, with excellent gear and recommendations from staff who show a real passion for diving.

My first interaction was buying a new mask and snorkel for my son. I got a great vibe from the team and when my son asked to do the Open Water 20 scuba course, I went straight to SDS without really looking at my options. The saying, "trust your instincts" was never truer in this instance. We came out with the skills and knowledge to confidently "go it alone". The entire SDS team were super friendly, and extremely accomodating. Rani, our trainer, was super helpful, forever patient, hugely knowledgeable, and generally a great person that made you feel safe and comfortable. In fact EVERY one at SDS made you feel welcome. There's no need to go anywhere else!

The most professional and experienced dive shop I have been part of. If you get the privilege to be mentored / trained by Karl you are in the presence of a special diver. Not taking away the credit from the rest of the Snorkel and Dive Safari Altona Beach team they are all great and super supportive. Thank you Snorkel and Dive Safari Altona Beach my love for diving has been rekindled.

I just completed a 4 day OW20 course with the crew. Their patience, flexibility, knowledge and professionalism is second to none. Our instructor, Dani, is legendary for his calm, friendly no-nonsense approach which built our confidence and steadily took us from not knowing a fin from a snorkel to happily swimming with the wildlife 18m below Port Philip Bay in no time. Can't recommend these guys enough! 👌🏼

The customer service provided by Karl, Sal and their crew is great. Their knowledge is impressive and the dive community they have built up in the west is super friendly. They can supply everything I need as a diver, including servicing of my equipment, all done in a timely manner. I enjoy going here.

Had my old dive gear serviced by them. Very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Thank you for getting my gear usable again.

The whole team were awesome and sorted me out with a full setup. Extremely knowledgeable and helpful getting me the right gear for the right type of diving without asking me to spend money on things I didn’t need. 10/10 will come back for all my scuba needs and advice

Dani our instructor taught us so much, and in an engaging and clear way, both before we left the shop and after. He fitted us with gear carefully so everything would work well for us in the water. I loved being free to roam by myself at a safe distance from Dani, and felt immediately relaxed and joyful at what I saw just beneath my eyes. Life-changing, being accepted as one of the underwater creatures, and sharing this feeling with the others. Thanks to all at Altona Snorkel and Dive. You're the best!

10 STARS!!! I have genuinely never met a more down to earth, knowledgeable, passionate and generous team, as the Snorkel and Dive Safari (Altona) team led by Karl and Sally. This is a team of stand out individuals, who effortlessly share their infectious love for scuba diving and the ocean. Sally as my recent OW20 instructor was beyond incredible, I can't speak highly enough of her - amazing experience all-round! Thank you.

I've just recently completed my open water 20 dive course with Snorkel and Dive Safari Altona and I cannot recommend them enough! After completion I booked in for a dive with their club that next weekend and it was absolutely amazing! The staff helped ensure we were all prepared before the dive and hiring gear was simple and the dive itself was absolutely stunning! Highly recommend dropping in as they are an amazing team with a great inclusive and incredibly helpful manner!

Good service, knowledgeable crew

We were first time snorkellers and would highly recommend this place for all beginners. Danny was really calm and patient with us and gently encouraged us to let go of our fears. Thank you Danny for making our first snorkelling experience a very memorable one. Sally was very prompt and helpful in replying to my emails and all my beginner related queries.

Rani was a great instructor, he was extremely informative and understanding. The scuba experience was great, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to give scuba a go.

Fantastic service, helpful, knowledgeable and just old fashioned nice. I made a sizing mistake, resolved without any hassle. Thanks again, much appreciated.

Rani was the best instructor, taught us all we needed to know and we had the best scuba diving experience, would go again

Rani was wonderfully kind and very accommodating of new beginners. He is nice and funny and makes it very easy to learn.

Helpful staff! We were able to get our RAID certification cards printed which is very handy for travel.

Very good service had a pleasant chat with one member of the staff who was very helpful I do not know his name but he was from New Zealand

It's such a great academy! Karl, Sally, and the rest of the crew are excellent diving instructors, very professional and knowledgeable. I took the Open Water 20m diving course with them, spread over 2 weekends, and it was an incredible experience, I always felt safe in the water, and I learned a lot. The course is set in a way that the student will be ready to practice all the skills and make the most of the sessions. I definitely recommend this academy, especially if you don't have too much experience in the water like me, you will be in safe hands, and you will discover the magic that lies underwater.

Best Dive shop in Melbourne! Highly skilled and motivated friendly staff.

Friendly knowledgable service. Will return! 🤗🤗🍹

Helpful staff and very reasonably priced

Terrific staff so so friendly

Awesome people with great knowledge of the sport

Helpful and knowledgeable team.

Can recommend the open water 20 course. Great structure to build up confidence and instructors who will look out for you and help improve skills.

My friend and I came for an open water course at the store. The course was very well conducted and organised by knowledgeable staff. Rani was very patient and helped to explain things in various ways. Would definitely recommend this place!

Smaller dive store with excellent, friendly and experienced team that made learning to dive an easy experience for me and friends.

Absolutely amazing service with their training courses. Flexible, professional and great value for money.

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great advice on products and places to dive. Extremely helpful to resolve any issues with gear.

These guys are my go to in Melbourne for diving. They run a club with plenty of regular local dives plus bigger trips. They know their stuff and have great gear.

Great people service and tuition we will be back I did a lot of research before choosing a dive facility and they were amazing with great instructors

Danny provided us with excellent service and taught us a few new things.

Carl is great. An excellent toy store!

Awesome staff with great advice

I started visiting Snorkel and Safari from recommendations and I needed a scuba shop in the west side of Melbourne. They are well worth. A good bunch of crew with good service.

Great customer service!

Very helpful staff and quite knowledgeable on accessories and repairs.

Great shop!

Very helpful, good range of gear

Dropped in to enroll for a learn to dive course. The staff took all the time to explain everything and assist with gear selection. Most helpful

I've dealt with Karl and Sally for years for all my SCUBA needs. Excellent service and knowledge. After diving for 20 years I wouldn't go anywhere else. Always happy to help out and go the extra mile.

Great place to shop for diving gear.

Great advice

Great and helpful staff. Good price to rent snorkeling gear :)

One of the best dive shops in the Melbourne region, incredibly professional and knowledgeable people. Decent range but a bit pricey to be expected from a small shop. Definitely worth doing dive training here as a RAID centre; I had a blast.

Great dive shop run by Karl, Sally and the team. At all times professional, helpful and knowledgeable. I converted over to SSI and subsequently RAID after moving to Melbourne - the quality of teaching on the courses is superb and the community in their dive club makes it easy to head out on the weekend with a friendly group. Highly recommended.

You will become that good a diver you might meet a mermaid. Great people and great teachers

Helpful and informed staff, with an active dive club. Great selection of equipment, and a diverse amount of overseas trips on offer, all competitively priced.

Knowledgeable and helpful staff, as always.

Very good service

Good advice and customer service.

I had my snorkelling tour with Dani, who explained thoroughly all details of the equipment and security in the sea. This made me feel very safe while snorkelling. I wish I could stay longer in Melbourne to do the proper training!!

Dropped into the Club Dive and it was awesome! The staff were super helpful and friendly, the rental rates were decent, the gear was pretty good, and the dive was terrific at Rye Pier! As a beginner diver I felt super safe diving with these guys and would 100% do it again.

I completed some technical diving training with Karl. He was always extremely professional and knowledgeable. Karl always had time to answer any of my questions, no matter how pedantic or tangential. The atmosphere on the boat was always fun and relaxed, while maintaining a high emphasis on safety. The whole crew at Altona are friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Great shop!

Great Dive shop. Friendly and helpful staff, huge range of equipment, courses available for all levels of divers and an active and friend social dive club/community. Highly recommend them.